Frictional transmission-gearing for automobiles.



I F. C. DE VALLANT & R. WEAVER.

'FRIGTIONAL TRANSMISSION GEARING FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10. 1914,

r 1,147,487; v Patented July 20,1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

F- C. DE VALLANT 61. R. WEAVER. rmcnom TRANSMISSION GEARING FOR AUTOMOBILES.

I APPLICATION FILED SEPT- I0, I914. 1,147,487. "PatentedJuly 20, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

To all whom it may gon r,

em an strntrns rarnivr OFFICE.

FRED C. DE VALLANT, OF EABLVILLE, AND ROSS WEAVER, 0F PLYMOUTH, YORK.

rarcrronar. 'mAn s rarss oN-Gnnme vron. AUTOMOBILES.

a Jul 20, 1915 Be 'tknownthat'we, FRED C. DE VALLANT andROss W1;vnn,citizens of the United States, residi'nf'zyi respectively, at Earlville, in the county (5 a, adisonand State of New York, and at Plymsath, county of Chenango, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Frictional Transmission-Gearing for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the classof machine elements adaptable for motor cars or automobiles, and pertains especially to friction gearing and to mechanism for operating thesame. v

The object of the invention is to provide novel and peculiar mechanism for automatically operating a pair of frictional gears or wheels, and for simultaneously shifting the wheels out of engagement, by pressing a foot lever, so as to vary the speed of a motor car or automobile.

A further object of the invention is to provide a frictional disk or wheel with steplike frictional bearing faces adapted to be engaged by the frictional periphery of one of a pair of interlocking frictional cones for varying the speed of a motor car or auto mobile, the periphery of said disk also adapted to engage the face of the other of said pair of cones.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a plurality of cooperating levers of novel and peculiar construction and relative arrangement adapted to be automatically operated by operating a foot lever, for automatically operating a plurality of friction ears.

a A. still further object of the invention is to provide a special device operated by the longitudinal movement of one of a pair of cooperating cones for locking and unlocking the pair of cones.

Various other objects and improved results will be found in the practical application of the invention. 7

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this application :Figure 1 is a top view showing the application of the invention, the pair of frictional cones being shown separated in dotted lines, the hand lever being removed and the pawl and ratchet broken away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the cone gears and frictional disk. Fig. 4 is an end view of the cone dogs. Fig.

Specification of letters Patent. Patente Application liled September 10, 1914. Serial No. 861,090.

5 is a perspective view of the foot-operated levers, partly broken away.

The same reference characters denote the Same parts throughout the several views of the drawings. i r

A supporting frame or bed 1 is employed for illustrating the invention which may be applied to or mounted upon any other suitable frame. The framevl has a central compound shaft comprising a square length or portion 2, and a cylindrical or round length or portion 3, cooperating with a 'spring'controlled shaft 4. -At the intersection of the portions 2 and 3 there is an abutment '5,

the function of which will be hereinafter explained. The shaft 2 is journaled in the fra 1 at 6, and is held against longitudinal movementby means of shaft flanges 7, which hug the bearings 6. The shaft 2 may be coupled in the usual way to a motor or driven shaft of an automobile, or said shaft portion may be extended beyond the bearing 6, and constitute the motor shaft. The shaft 4 is Tofirnaled in a bearing 8 supported by a front frame yoke 9, and the.

inner endof the shaft 4 has a hollow stem 10, in which the shaft portion 3 is j ournaled. The stem 10 is journaled in a frame bearing 11, for lengthwise or longitudinal movement with the shaft 4 imparted thereto by a lever 13, hereinafter more particularly referred to, which contracts a spiral spring 14, and by the expansion of the spring when said lever is released. A cone wheel 15 is keyed upon the inner end of the stem 10, for longitudinal movement by the shaft portion 4, and said wheel has a centrally headed collar with the abutment 5. The wheel 15 is pro- 16 projecting therefrom and cooperating vided with an annular frictional bearingv face 17, and a beveled frictional ring 18 is secured to a ring flange 19, projecting from the wheel 15 adjacent to the collar 16, said ring 18 being 'remova'bly attached to the v flange 19 by means of set bolts 20.

A cone wheel 21 is slidably mounted on the shaft portion 2, and has a frictional ring 22 secured in a peripheral socket of the wheel 21, by means of bolts 23. The inner face 24 of the wheel 21 cooperates in a frictional gearing withthe inclined face ofthe ring 18. The inner end .of the wheel hub 25 is provided with a plurality, referably three pawls or dogs 26, each of which is pivoted at 2 7 to the hub 25, and the dogs are flexibly connected; together by means of spiral springs 28 attached to the dogs adjacent to the pivots 27, and the free end of the dogs is provided with a concaved slid out of engagement with the wheel 21,

the shoulders 2(5 drop into engagement with the face of the abutment 5 and thereby hold the wheel 21 in position to be engaged by the wheel The wheel 21 is operated for sliding movement by means of a hand lever 31, controlled by a pawl or ratchet 32, or

other suitable means, and having'a forked end working in a collar 34 of the hub of the wheel 21. Obviously when the lever 31 is operated for sliding the wheel 21 away from the wheel 1."), the relative shape or construction of the head of the collar 16 and of the free end of the dogs will automatically release the dogs.

A shaft 35 is journaled at right angles to the shaft portion 2, in a framebearing 36 and in a bearing 37, o'na side yoke 38, and

said shaft 35 works in a sleeve 39 slidable with the shaft 35, for compressing a spiral spring 40 the expansion of which slides the shaft 35 into normal position. The inner end of the shaft 35 is provided with a frictional disk or wheel 41 having a frictional ring 42. held in the grooved periphery of the disk by suitable bolts 43, for engaging the face' 17 of the wheel 15, and the face of the disk 41 is divided into. step-like bearing surfaces for the frictional ring 22 of the wheel 21. Said disk divisions comprise a reverse surface A, a central or neutral surface B, and lowspeed surfaces 0, and D+E. Obviously when the ring is moved into frictional contact with either the reverse surface A, or the low speed surface C, the spring 40 will exert greater pressure or thrust on the disk 41, and as the wheel ring 22 is moved on to the low, speed surface DE, the spring-i0 will automatically expand and thereby lessen the thrust on the disk r1 .'whereby the frictional bearing pres .sure between the ring 22 and the disk 41 is changed ,or varied according to the speed or power required in reversing and starting operations. 1

The mechanism for automatically sliding the wheel 15 and the disk 41 comprises the lever 13, pivoted at 44, and having a link 45 pivoted thereto at 46, a foot lever 47 fulextending into the path of movement of the arm 49, so that by pushing the foot lever 47 the lever 13 will retract the wheel '15 out of engagement with the wheel rim 42 and such retraction will raise the dogs 26 out of locked position with the head of the sleeve 16, and permit the dogs to drop mto locked position with the abutment 5, so as to hold the wheel 21 in proper position for the dogs to again lock with the head of the collar 16, and said operation of thefoot lever will cause the arm 49 to operate the arm 53 and thereby automatically slide the disk 41 out of engagement with the frictional ring 22 of the wheel 21. Upon releasing the pressure on the foot lever 47 the expansion of the springs 14 and 40 will" automatically return the wheel 15 into engagement with the rim 42 of the disk 41, and will also return the disk 41' for engagement with the ring 22 of the wheel 21. Obviously the wheel 21 maybe slid into and out of thewheel 15, by means of the hand lever 31, for having the dogs 26 cooperate with the abutment 5, and head of the sleeve 16, whereby the frictional wheels 15 and 21 are coupled and uncoupled.

The tension of the springs-I4 and 40 may be regulated respectively by'iheans of nuts 54 and 55. The frictional rings 18, 22, and 42 may be removed and replaced as desired oras occasion may demand by removing the bolts which hold said rings in place.

It will be seen from the construction and relative arrangement of the parts of our in vention that the compound shaft is driven direct and the power transmission is perfected through the manipulation of the frictional gears, and that a variable speed is attained by the cooperation of said gearing.

We do not wish tolimit our invention to any particular size or material, nor to any particular means for mounting the frictional wheels, but reserve the right to make such changes andvariations in the mechanical construction and practical application of the invention as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

. Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a transmission gearing for automobiles, a suitably supported motor driven shaft having an angular, portion and a round portion, an abutment at the intersection of said shaft portions, a frictional wheel slidably mounted on the angular shaft portion, a shaft slidably mounted on the said round shaft portion, a frictional wheel secured to the inner end of the slidable shaft and having a central projection adjacent to the abutment, a plurality of flexible dogs projecting from the slidable wheel and operated by the abutment for engagement with the said projection, and means for sliding the dog wheel.

.2. The combination with a motor-driven shaft, and a thrust shaft having a hollow stem slidable on one end of the driven shaft,

-of a friction wheel slidably mounted on the driven shaft, a'plurality of dogs projecting from said wheel, a friction wheel secured to the inner end of the thrust shaft and having a headed collar engaged by the dogs, and means for sliding said shafts.

v 3. The combination with a motor-driven shaft having an abutment, a pair of slidable thrust shafts, a friction wheel secured to each ofthe thrust shafts, and a friction wheel slidable upon the driven shaft, of means for holding the slidable wheel in fixed position relative to the thrust shaft wheels during the sliding movement of the thrust shafts,v comprising a. plurality of spring controlled dogs projecting from within the slidable wheel for engagement with said abutment. I

4:. In a frictional gear transmission, a frictional wheel having an annular frictional bearing face, and a frictional ring within the wheel, in combination with a wheel having a bearing surface for said ring, a plurality of dogs pivoted within one of said Wheels and adapted to project into the other Wheel for connecting the wheels, and means for sliding the dog wheel.

In witness whereof we hereunto set our hands in the presence of two Witnesses.

' FRED C. DE VALLANT.

ROSS VV'EAVER. Witnesses:

MABEL F. KENT, DAVID F.'Lnn.

copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. '0.- v 

